A Banff Spring, Banff National Park Alberta, Canada

Description:

Place bottle against ledge in flow.

Nearest Address

Banff National Park, Alberta

Directions from Nearest Address

Heading West on Highway 1 from Banff town, take the Johnstons Canyon turnoff 1A travel down this road a couple kilometers until the road becomes divided just before the divide you will see the spring on your right hand side place bottle on the ledge to collect best to collect with plastic bottle that has a handle and then pour into your glass bottles to store.

Vital Information

  • Fee: No, but technically you need a National Parks Pass
  • Access: Public
  • Flow: Continuous
  • TDS: 179
  • Temp: N/A
  • pH: 8

Hours Spring is Open:

Unknown

GPS:

N 51deg 10.182′
W 115deg 41.854′

Map Link: A Banff Spring

Submitted by: Malcolm Saunders

Responses

  2. bpass April 1, 2010

    To Skerika,

    I too had that concern as I was infected with Beaver Fever back in 1988! Absolutely horrible….lost my health for 10 years over this one!

    BUT, you know my hubby and I collected 6 glass gallon jugs of it a few weeks back using a telescoping funnel devise that worked props 🙂 …..and YES I had my concerns….BUT decided to NOT let FEAR get in the way….and enjoyed every drop! Well not quite – dumped the last 2 inches – as there were sediment floating SO…..

    We arrived at the same time as some seasoned water gatherers….and yes, bemindful NOT to come in contact with the mosses…..be mindful of the surroundings as the animals do come to drink and rest. SO, as they said you dont collect if the animals sightings are fresh – there is that chance!

    We will most definetly collect more 🙂 for if anyone is going to get sick would be me!!! and I didnt have any issues over this at all.

    So be encouraged!

    1. casey_oceans_blue April 25, 2011

      Hi Sam,

      I am wondering if you ever got the report from Vanessa. I have attempted to get in contact and no luck yet. Do you have the report? and would you be willing to email it to me if you do?

      thank you and have an awesome adventure,
      casey

  4. vaw1979 October 11, 2009

    I found a report done in 1983 on all known springs of Alberta. It looks like there is thousands of them. They have anyalyzed the tds and mineral conent and ph and temperature. Thye also have some maps. It is 105 pages… for some strange reason i cannot find the website again … but i can definately email you a copy if you want it … i am trying to figure out where some of the springs are because it would be nice to find a true spring closer to calgary …. i know there is one srping in bragg creek called iron springs … BUT … i think youhave to hike 12 k to get it … just in the prelimanary stage of all this … hope we can all connect and get some good water … vanessa

  5. Name August 29, 2009

    I went to this spring and it is in an amazing place however I don't think it's a true spring, it has a pretty high ph and the tds raiting is really high(it has a lot of minerals in it) I hope to find another spring around calgary!

  9. casey_oceans_blue October 14, 2009

    This, I believe, is a true spring. It has 100 TDS at the source where it comes out of the earth
    and as it flows to the collection point by the road (about 30 meters down) the TDS is 180.

    We had it tested and it had a great report.

    Very healing water, the city stank disappears moments after drinking it.

  10. Sarah September 19, 2015

    We collected this water twice in Winter. The first time from the roadside where is is concreted to flow down some steps and the second from the source as we both experienced 2 weeks of dodgy digestion which may or may not have been from the water the first time we drank it. It’s not easy to collect from the source so I would recommend taking a hose. We revisited this week and it looks beautiful with all the moss but we did not collect any water. We decided against it as there was a beer can above the source (if there’s a beer can up there maybe someone could’ve done a boozy poo up there! Haha anyway it just looked unsavory and put us off) and I collected a wee glass bottle full near the source and it had too many floaters in it – probably just moss, too hard to collect without a hose. Anyway we are off to Vancouver Is. via Kelowna soon so thought we’d just deal with tap water in Golden before we hit up the Summerland spring in BC which is fabulous 😉 Love this website it’s been invaluable to us 2 kiwis on our glorious road trip we’ve been on from British Columbia to Arizona and back up! Will try to review all the springs we’ve been to. So many good ones!

  12. casey_oceans_blue October 14, 2009

    This, I believe, is a true spring. It has 100 TDS at the source where it comes out of the earth
    and as it flows to the collection point by the road (about 30 meters down) the TDS is 180.

    We had it tested and it had a great report.

    Very healing water, the city stank disappears moments after drinking it.

How to Collect Spring Water

Dakota September 28, 2022
12 Comments

Drinking pure spring water is one of the most important things we can do for our health. Our bodies are over 99% water at the molecular level, so water affects every aspect of our biology. Yet, not all water is created equal. Almost all the bottled spring water available is pasteurized for shelf stability, which neutralizes many of the powerful health benefits such as increased hydrogen, healthy probiotics, and crystalline structure. For more about why unprocessed spring water is the best water to drink, read this.

The best way to guarantee you are getting real unprocessed spring water is to collect it yourself. This is a short and simple guide filled with information about how to gather spring water. We will cover how to find a spring, how to collect the water, how to honor the spring, how to store the water properly and other tips.

FindASpring.org is the best resource for locating a spring near you. However, not all springs are on the map. First, check the map to see if there is a spring in your local area. If there is, look at the reviews and comments. Has anyone shared helpful information about flow rate or posted a water test result? Is the spring in a pristine area? Do a bit of research and make sure the spring is safe to drink from. If you have any doubt about the purity, don’t risk it and get a water test, HERE. If you don’t see a spring on the map in your area, there still might be some that aren’t listed yet. First, ask the older generation who have lived in your area a long time if they know. You can also ask people in your community who might already get spring water such as people at a health food store or at a farmers market. Another great option is to view A US forest service map, where many springs have been marked. You can view these maps through the Gaia GPS or All Trails hiking apps on your phone. The map overlay you want is USGS Topo. Not all are easily accessible or ideal for drinking, but some are and it can be a fun adventure to find them. We have found over half a dozen great springs this way.

Once you’ve found your spring, figure out how you are going to gather the water. Is it right on the side of the road and easy to access or do you have to hike to it? We recommend storing spring water in glass instead of plastic to preserve the purity of the water. It is better for the environment, your body, and the water. Even BPA free plastic has toxic chemicals that can leach into water and cause health issues. If you do want to use plastic for safety reasons when filling at the spring, we recommend transferring the water to glass as soon as possible. FindASpring is sponsored by Alive Waters, which offers beautiful reusable glass. They have a 2.5 gallon option, which is a convenient size for carrying that isn’t too heavy. They also sell handles that you can use to transport the jugs even more easily. If you have to hike to access the spring, we recommend putting the water jugs into an extra large backpack to hike the water out with ease. We use Osprey packs that hold 2 jugs each. You can also use a wheelbarrow or even a stroller depending on how easy a walk it is.

Filling 2.5 Gallon Alive Waters Jug

When you get to the spring, remember to first give back before you take. Springs are considered sacred in indigenous cultures around the world for their life giving water and also as a connection to the inner earth. A powerful and simple way to give back is to clean up. Is there any trash that needs to be collected? Could you move any dead leaves or sticks to improve the flow rate? Show up in service. Some other wonderful ways to give is with a moment of expressing verbal gratitude, singing songs to the water, offering the water an ethically sourced crystal, a feather, or some other physical gift. Flowers are a popular and beautiful thing to offer, but please be careful to source organic ones as most flowers from the store are sprayed with pesticides and can be toxic to put near a spring. Also, flowers can attract bugs as they decay, so it can be best to offer them to the flowing water directly or a little downstream from the spring head.

When gathering the water, fill the jug as close to the spring head as possible, never gather downstream. Be very careful as wet glass is extremely slippery. Make sure the lid is securely fastened. When transporting the spring water home, the jugs can sometimes slide around the car. Secure them in place or wrap them with towels or something so they don’t crash into each other.

How you store your spring water is essential. It is not pasteurized like spring water from the store, so it will start growing algae if left in direct sunlight. This is good because it means it’s alive! If the water you drink can’t even support the most basic life forms, how do you think it will support your body? Store your water in a cool, dark place such as a dark corner, pantry or closet. The fridge is ideal if you have room. Some people prefer to filter their water through a Berkey filter before drinking, but if the spring is pure, it’s not necessary. We drink our spring water completely unfiltered.

How long the water stays good for depends on how cold a temperature it’s stored at. Spring water is best fresh. We personally do not prefer to drink spring water past 2 weeks old. However, we know other people that will drink it at a month old. It’s great to get in a rhythm where you know how long the water lasts you and put your collection day on the calendar in advance.

I believe that water is calling us to reconnect with her in the deepest way, to gather our own water. Just like our ancestors did. Our ancestors didn’t have fancy water machines. They also didn’t create villages or settle where there was no water. Water was revered as the center of the community and the nodal point around which life could spiral out and take root.

Here’s to restoring the sacred connection with the waters of life.

Written by Dakota Chanel. Water Priestess and Ceremonialist. DakotaChanel.com

Dakota

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